


Instinct

by BabyBottlePop



Series: Here and Now [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Caregiver!Qui-Gon, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Little!Obi-Wan, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Non-Sexual Age Play, Platonic Life Partners, Platonic Male/Male Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22229176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabyBottlePop/pseuds/BabyBottlePop
Summary: Qui-Gon didn’t know that Obi-Wan Kenobi was a Little until several hours after he had officially taken on the boy as his padawan, during their flight home from Bandomeer.
Relationships: Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: Here and Now [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1600087
Comments: 24
Kudos: 224





	Instinct

**Author's Note:**

> There just aren't enough Little!Obi-Wan fics out there. Bam4Me, however, writes some amazing age-play fics in the prequel era, which definitely offered some inspiration.

Qui-Gon didn’t know that Obi-Wan Kenobi was a Little until several hours after he had officially taken on the boy as his padawan learner, during their flight home from Bandomeer. The master had sent his newest charge to get some rest, seeing as they had almost twelve hours left of travel time before they reached Coruscant. 

While his new padawan was resting, Qui-Gon planned on mediating. There were a lot of new things for him to process, with Xanatos and his new padawan being the two most important subjects. 

For some reason, despite the calmness of the ship, his instincts were urging him to go and check on the boy, making it impossible for him to focus on his meditation. He blamed this feeling on his classification as a Caregiver. Due to his classification, Qui-Gon couldn’t help but be ruled by his feelings in certain situations, especially when it came to attachment. He had the constant need to nurture, especially when it came to children or Littles. 

Despite being a Caregiver, Qui-Gon had never been a master to a Little padawan before. This wasn’t by choice, but rather due to the rarity of Littles who were born force-sensitive. Although neither Feemor nor Xanatos were Little, Qui-Gon had still been a doting master to both of them, due to his own biological needs. Both of his previous padawans had put up with his constant coddling, but they still couldn’t respond to him as a Little might. 

Xanatos, Qui-Gon had eventually come to realize, had understood this and manipulated Qui-Gon into outright spoiling him. He had refused to listen to Yoda’s concerns, allowing his masterly pride to overcome him as his padawan continuously excelled above other students his age. 

But then Xanatos had showed his true colors, and Qui-Gon vowed to never be ruled by his emotions again, no matter the fact that it was ingrained into his biological needs. He would never be manipulated by a sweet face again. That was why he had adamantly refused to take on another padawan, over and over again throughout the years. 

But now he had Obi-Wan. 

His instincts has practically screamed at him when he had first set eyes on the boy during his mock fight against Initiate Chun. Obi-Wan was small despite almost being thirteen, and he had deep, expressive eyes, an endearing smile, and dimples. It had taken all of Qui-Gon’s self-control to hold back from his desire to nurture him. Instead, he sternly critiqued the boy over his emotions and fighting style, ignoring the lurch in his stomach at the distraught, disappointed expression he’d caused him. 

In the end, it had taken Obi-Wan offering to sacrifice his own life in order to save Qui-Gon and the rest of the people of Bandomeer for the master to realize his mistake. It had been wrong for him to judge Obi-Wan so harshly. There clearly wasn’t a single dark thought in the boy. On the contrary, Obi-Wan was as selfless as a Jedi could be. 

Finally giving into his needs, Qui-Gon made for the back of their small ship and palmed the door open of the ship’s resting area. He could sense that his new padawan was still awake, and planned to ask him if he would like to meditate together. 

When he entered, however, Qui-Gon received quite a shock. 

Obi-Wan was not sleeping yet, as Qui-Gon had correctly sensed. Instead, the thirteen year old was huddled in the corner of his bed. His eyes were half-closed, and he looked deep in thought as he sucked on his thumb. It was quite possibly the last thing Qui-Gon had expected to see, and he felt his heart jump in surprise at the vulnerable scene before him. 

Obi-Wan, startled by Qui-Gon’s sudden entrance, gave a startled squeak, abruptly pulling his thumb from his mouth. 

“M-Master,” he stuttered. “I- I didn’t…..” 

Qui-Gon crossed the room so that he was standing in front of his padawan. 

“Obi-Wan, are you a Little?” He asked. Despite knowing the answer already, he needed to hear a confirmation. When Obi-Wan refused to meet his eyes, he took him by the chin. “I would like an answer, Padawan.” 

“I- I think so, Master,” Obi-Wan confessed, voice wobbling as he admitted his shameful secret. “But I can be big, I can! I w-won’t let it get in the way of my training. I promise, Master. I want to be a Jedi Knight!” 

“Oh Obi-Wan,” Qui-Gon whispered, his heart aching. “I’m so sorry, Padawan. If I had any idea you were a Little…”

He thought back to his first words to the boy, of his harsh critique after Obi-Wan and Initiate Chun’s mock-fight. He’d called him dangerous, and angry. Of course Obi-Wan would have trouble reigning in his emotions; he was a Little, for Force’s sake! And Qui-Gon was a Caregiver, how could he have treated a Little so cruelly?

Qui-Gon’s breath hitched, and he pulled the boy into his arms instinctually. That was all it took for Obi-Wan to fully regress. He burst into tears, burying his face into Qui-Gon’s tunic, apologizing over and over again for something that wasn’t his fault.

Qui-Gon vowed to fix this. Now that he had a Little in his care, for the first time ever, there would be many changes in his life. It was up to him to raise and protect his Little, all while grooming him to be a Jedi Knight someday as well. 

* * *

To the rest of the temple, it must have been quite a shock to see Qui-Gon Jinn, the cold and aloof Jedi Master who swore to never take on another student, arrive off his transport carrying a thirteen year old brand new Padawan on his hip. 

Students and masters alike gaped in shock, but Qui-Gon merely ignored them in favor of his his padawan, who was soon lulled to sleep by his master’s rhythmic steps. The only one who didn’t seem surprised was Yoda, who merely leaned forward on his cane and observed his grandpadawan when Qui-Gon arrived at his quarters. 

“Hoped that you would see sense, I did,” Yoda was finally the first to speak. 

“You didn’t tell me that Obi-Wan is a Little,” Qui-Gon responded, trying and failing to keep the harsh accusation from his tone. Still, he spoke rather quietly, because Obi-Wan was asleep in his arms. 

“Told you, I did, that you and Obi-Wan would be a good match,” Yoda replied patiently. “Listen, you did not.” 

“Yes, but-” Qui-Gon stuttered, and then felt angry, not for himself, but for Obi-Wan. “You sent a Little to Bandomeer all by himself! What if I was not there to look out for him?”

“But you were,” Yoda reminded him. “Both of you, now, the Force has brought together.” 

“He could have regressed at any point in time!” Qui-Gon said, not ready to let the matter go. “It’s a wonder that he managed to hold on for so long-”

“First time regressing, this is, for young Obi-Wan.” Yoda finally told him. “Unclassified, he was, until now. Wondered, I did, but did not know for sure.”

Generally, humans fell into their classification status early in life, before age ten. Perhaps being a late bloomer had contributed as to why nobody had chosen Obi-Wan to be their padawan before Qui-Gon had. Masters generally liked to be aware of their padawan’s classifications to ensure they would match well; not that this mattered to Qui-Gon, because the temple never had Little padawans. 

Despite the revelation that the council had not knowingly sent a Little to Bandomeer all alone, Qui-Gon was still not fully appeased. Nonetheless, he had more important matters to tend to rather than arguing with his grandmaster. First and most importantly, he needed to acquire all of the items necessary to accommodate a Little. The temple’s quartermaster had many items on hand, and the rest were easily obtained. That would be his next destination. 

“I need to get Obi-Wan settled,” he told Yoda. “He’s been through a lot in the past few days. Both of us have.”

“Talk about Bandomer soon, we will,” Yoda said, and then, “Glad I am, that you will care for Obi-Wan.” 

“I am too,” Qui-Gon said shortly. Then, he left without a backward glance, eager to move forward with his new apprentice. 

* * *

As they neared the quartermaster’s location, Obi-Wan stirred awake. His eyes widened when he realized that they were back at the temple, and he made a small, happy noise, squirming excitedly. Qui-Gon let him down onto the floor so that he could stretch his legs. 

“First we’re going to get you some new clothes, and then we’ll go to my quarters and get you all settled into your new bedroom. How does that sound?”

“Good, Master,” Obi-Wan said, smiling shyly. He clutched Qui-Gon’s hand tightly as they arrived at their destination. Qui-Gon squeezed his hand reassuringly as they greeted the quartermaster. It was clear that the padawan was almost fully into his Little headspace, and so he would need positive reinforcement and special attention. 

Thankfully, the temple was equipped with all of the necessities in order to keep a Little comfortable. Obi-Wan required soft tunics and leggings that were made from Demicot silk, a material that was often used to make Jedi formal wear, but was used for Littles or species with sensitive skin as well. Along with the clothes, Qui-Gon was also given two bottles, one pacifier, a changing mat, and a small stack of cloth diapers for his new Little. 

“Which color would you like, Obi-Wan?” Qui-Gon asked his apprentice when given the selection of pacifiers to choose from. 

“Bwoo,” Obi-Wan answered softly, his voice muffled by the thumb in his mouth. It was the most endearing sight Qui-Gon had ever seen. He thumbed the boy’s flushed cheek before presenting him with the light blue pacifier. 

Obi-Wan was also permitted to have a few toys, or ‘comfort’ objects. While these weren’t provided by the temple, Qui-Gon was given a credit chip to purchase some himself. That would be a task for tomorrow though. It was clear that his Little was exhausted, and he needed a chance to finally settle down, along with a good night’s rest. 

When they got to Qui-Gon’s quarters, he showed Obi-Wan the small kitchenette, the connected common area, fresher, and the two bedrooms. In the second, smaller bedroom, they put Obi-Wan’s clothes and few possessions in an empty wardrobe. 

“There,” Qui-Gon smoothed back the boy’s hair. “Now I think that a bath is in order. How does that sound to you?”

Obi-Wan agreed easily. He was rather dirty from their adventure on Bandomeer, and it would be good to get him cleaned up a bit. 

Once in the fresher, however, Qui-Gon inhaled sharply at the sight of the half healed, angry red marks that littered Obi-Wan’s body. He vaguely remembered the guards of the mining platform carrying electro-jabbers that they used to control the slaves. It had never occured to Qui-Gon that Obi-Wan had likely been hurt this way during his imprisonment there. How stupid he was!

“Obi-Wan, do these hurt badly?” He asked, tracing a finger over one of the marks. 

“A little, Master,” Obi-Wan confessed, though he was more interested in the soap bubbles that swirled in the water. “I got lots of hurts for being naughty and talking to Guerra.” 

“You weren’t being naughty,” Qui-Gon immediately corrected him. “You were kidnapped and held against your will, Obi-Wan. It was very wrong for them to hurt you, especially for something like talking.” 

He had to be very careful as he bathed Obi-Wan, washing and tending to the wounds with soap and bacta. Tomorrow morning he would take the boy to the healers and see if there was anything more they could do, but the bacta would likely finish most of the healing overnight. Thank the Force that the wounds were mostly superficial. 

Qui-Gon was also highly disconcerted at the sight of Obi-Wan’s ribs. When was the last time his Padawan had eaten, aside from their ration bars on the ship? It was doubtful that he had been provided with food on the mining platform…

“We’ll have a bottle before bed,” Qui-Gon told Obi-Wan. “How does that sound?”

Obi-Wan’s eyes grew wide, but he nodded rather frantically. Although he was taking his regression in stride, this was all still new to the padawan. Or rather, it was new to them both. Qui-Gon used to secretly wish to bottle feed his former apprentice, but he knew that Xanatos would have laughed in his face if Qui-Gon had ever suggested such a thing. 

With Obi-Wan, however, it felt completely natural. He sat down in his comfy armchair and cradled the boy in his arms, helping him hold the bottle as he sucked down the warm, sweet milk from his bottle. 

It was strange, how quickly and comfortable Qui-Gon was falling into his role as a caregiver, but his mind continued to buzz pleasantly. He had been around Littles before on missions, and had always imagined taking on a Little Padawan someday. He just hadn’t expected it to ever happen. The few Littles who he had ever encountered in the temple over the years were always snagged too quickly by other Caregiver masters. Aside from Obi-Wan, there hadn’t been a new Little in the temple for over fifteen years. 

Still, as sharp as his Caregiver instincts already were, Qui-Gon still wanted to make a trip to the Archives and read up further on the care and training of Little Jedi. He had a good idea about many of Obi-Wan’s needs, but surely there were things he was unaware of as well. 

He would strive to be the best master that he could be for his Little. There would be no more hiding from his instincts, or allowing the past to rule over him. He would stay in the here and now, with his sweet, darling Little. 

* * *

Feel free to visit me on Tumblr at [bashfulbabybottlepop](https://bashfulbabybottlepop.tumblr.com/)

It’s open to everyone, whether you want to chat about my fics, are Little or Big, or simply have questions. Consider it a safe space for all! :)


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